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Ukraine says it has put its army on full combat alert after Russia's parliament approved the
deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine. Acting President Olexander Turchynov said
he had also stepped up security at key sites, including nuclear plants.
Russia's Vladimir Putin requested extra troops to protect Russian interests in Ukraine. It
came on a day of pro-Russia rallies in the country.
The move has been met with alarm from Western leaders.
President Putin had a 90-minute phone call with US President Barack Obama in which, the
Kremlin said, he made clear that Moscow reserves the right to protect its interests and those
of Russian speakers in Ukraine. He also stressed that that this would not
be limited to the current flashpoint of Crimea "if violence spread further in the eastern
regions of Ukraine". Mr Obama, the White House said, told Mr Putin
that the appropriate way to address any concerns "is peacefully through direct engagement"
with the Ukrainian government and international mediating bodies.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for "an immediate restoration of calm and
direct dialogue", whilst Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen tweeted: "Urgent need for de-escalation
in Crimea." The UN Security Council was holding an emergency
session on the crisis on Saturday, and Nato and EU officials are due to hold talks in
the coming days. Bloody scuffles
In his live television address, President Turchynov urged Ukrainians to bridge divisions
in the country and said they must not fall for provocations.
He was accompanied by acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who said he was "convinced"
Russia would not intervene militarily "as this would be the beginning of war and the
end of all relations". But tensions are high, not only in Crimea
which is home to a large number of ethnic Russians.
There were big pro-Russian rallies in several Ukrainian cities on Saturday.
In Donetsk, traditional stronghold of ousted Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, demonstrators
from a crowd of some 7,000 tried unsuccessfully to occupy the regional administration building,
raising a Russian tricolour on a nearby flag-post. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city,
dozens of people were injured after scuffles between pro- and anti-Russian protesters broke
out outside the regional administration building. In Mariupol, in the south-east, hundreds of
protesters carrying Russian flags gathered outside the city council.
President Putin submitted the request for troops "in connection with the extraordinary
situation in Ukraine and the threat to the lives of Russian citizens", the Kremlin said.
The upper house went into a special session almost immediately after Mr Putin made the
request, and swiftly approved it. Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said,
however, that this "does not mean that this right will be used quickly" to deploy troops.
During the upper house debate, one legislator accused President Obama of crossing "a red
line" with his comments on Friday that there would be "costs" if Russia intervened militarily
in Ukraine. The upper house has recommended that the Russian
ambassador to the US should be recalled, although the decision lies with Mr Putin.